A coalition of nonprofits will launch a statewide advertising campaign today advocating for education reforms and asking the public to embrace and accelerate the educational changes.
“The whole bar for public education is on the brink of going up a big step,” said former Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien, a member of the coalition. “It’s about making sure people are going up too, and then getting over this debate to come together as a state to support public schools wherever they are, whatever they’re called.”
The One Chance Colorado coalition is made primarily of nonprofit organizations that include the Colorado Children’s Campaign, A+ Denver, the Colorado “I Have a Dream” Foundation and the Urban League of Metropolitan Denver.
O’Brien was reluctant to speak about the campaign’s budget, but it has been rumored to be near $1 million.
“We have enough local support for a very successful launch,” O’Brien said.
The national nonprofit Stand for Children, another coalition member, is acting as the fiscal agent for the campaign.
The first of three television commercials hits the airwaves today, airing on at least five stations.
It features a Denver Public Schools mother talking about her sixth-grade son’s education.
“My son Jon’il has something I never had,” the mother says in the video. “A school that’s changing his life. They expect their teachers to meet high standards, and they hold them accountable. That’s what school reform has done for my child.”
The campaign will also rely on billboards, bus-stop signs and a website where visitors will be asked to sign a pledge in support of “ensuring that every child in Colorado has a chance at a high quality education.”
One Chance Colorado advocates specifically for accountability of teachers, principals and other staff members.
“Every child deserves a great teacher,” O’Brien said. “So if they need to be great, it’s about how do you support them, and how do you get accountability for them.”
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1372 or yrobles@denverpost.com
